Spain must help free Cuban dissidents

Mark Twain once said, “In our country we have
those three unspeakably precious things: freedom of speech, freedom of conscience,
and the prudence never to practice either.” In thewitty
genius’ land, the United States, such irony suggests that people should not to
waste the opportunities that democracy offers. But in Cuba’s case any
humorous comment is meaningless, since neither freedom of expression nor
freedom of conscience exist … like almost all other freedoms. Any “imprudent” or
brave attempt to act as if these freedoms were available is suppressed with direct
brutality. Journalists and political dissidents who are jailed, tortured, and
harassed serve as an example.

At this stage of the 21st
century, the Cuban dictatorship—which not only abuses freedoms, but also
guarantees citizens misery and shortage of supplies—is no longer a mystery for
anybody. The dictatorship can’t find excuses in the libertarian origin of the revolution
against Batista or in the mistakes of U.S. foreign policy. In Europe particularly, where the weakest attempt against freedom
of the press triggers a scandal, it is intolerable that some intellectuals still
close their eyes or try to justify the dictatorship’s harassment of the Cuban independent
press.

As a Spanish citizen
who cares about Latin America, I would like to
say I trust the Spanish presidency of the European Union will be the driving
force to achieve—through political pressure—the release of Cuban journalists
and other political detainees. I would not be honest, though. The current
policy by the Spanish presidency toward Cuba has been an inefficient and
hypocritical effort focusing on economic interests rather than on the release
of those who claimed the same freedoms we enjoy.

The recent resolution by
the European Parliament to condemn Orlando Zapata’s death and the situation of
other Cuban political detainees offers a hint of hope. More than ever, it is
essential that intellectuals, artists, and Spanish citizens in general mobilize
to restore freedom of information, conscience, and expression in Cuba, as well
as the immediate release of those who fought for such freedoms. The cause of
these journalists should be taken up by those of us who can still raise a voice
against tyranny.

Fernando Savater is an author, essayist, and one
of Spain’s
most prominent intellectuals.